He was a towering figure whose very presence commanded a room, a compassionate and natural leader who would create one of the largest independent advertising agencies in Texas.

George Thompson Reynolds III, a lifelong Park Cities resident who founded Reynolds Outdoor Advertising, died Wednesday. He was 84.

"You don't see guys like that anymore," said son Scott Reynolds of Dallas. "He was a John Wayne kind of guy — a big, strong, authoritative man. You never had any doubt who was in charge, whether he was in a room with a thousand people or three."

The eldest son of George Reynolds Jr. of Dallas and Margaret Dunn of Houston, Reynolds was a graduate of Highland Park High, where he captained both the track and football teams.

At 16, Reynolds was at a high school football banquet, where he was to receive an award, when he was pulled away and informed that his father, who had been en route from Austin to attend, had been killed in an auto accident.

At that point, "he became the man of the house, and he had to take charge," Scott Reynolds said. "He's been in charge ever since."

In 1957, George Reynolds graduated from Southern Methodist University, where he earned a business degree, became a champion swimmer and belonged to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

He was commissioned as an U.S. Air Force lieutenant and stationed in Tokyo, flying Pacific missions as a navigator aboard a Douglas C-124 Globemaster and eventually becoming a captain.

As he pursued a career in outdoor advertising, he met Jocelyn Ann "Sissy" Adams, whom he would marry in December 1965.

In 1976, Reynolds founded Reynolds Outdoor Advertising, which would go on to earn mention in Adweek as an industry "biggie." By 1997, when he sold the company's assets to billboard giant Outdoor Systems, the firm owned and operated 330 billboards throughout the Dallas area.

"We loved working for him," said son Scott Reynolds, noting that the firm didn't pay its salespeople commissions. Instead, "you worked for his approval, his 'attaboy.' ... He was so much fun to bring a contract to. It was just a blast to work for him. He motivated with love."

George Reynolds would continue to buy and manage billboards as owner of Reynolds Outdoor L.P. and served as president of both the Dallas Outdoor Advertising Association and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas.

"As successful as he was, he never failed to be warm and accepting of people," said sister Jane Hopkins of Dallas, seven years his junior. "And he always had a twinkle in his eye."

Optimistic and full of fun, Reynolds' entrepreneurial spirit and constant confidence instilled a sense of security in those around him.

Scott Reynolds recalled accompanying his father on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico, around age 11, when things went awry.

"We were on my grandfather's bitty boat and the bilge pump went out," he said. "We were taking on water, but I was never scared. I knew he could handle the situation, even though we were three hours from the marina."

Scott Reynolds remembers his dad telling him to grab a life jacket and to hang on, and — several hours later, after he had stepped onto dry land — the boat sinking in the marina. Not until much later, as an adult, did he grasp the gravity of the situation.

"I always felt safe with him, because he could handle anything," he said.

Reynolds, at far right, in a photo taken as he joined the Highland Park town council in 2004.

(Courtesy of Highland Park Town Council/File photo)

Reynolds would chair the Byron Nelson Classic PGA tournament, achieving record revenue for the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, an organization he particularly admired for its support of emotional health for children and their families.

He served as a Highland Park town councilman and was honored with distinguished alumni awards from both SMU and Highland Park ISD. In 2000, Reynolds received the Silver Anniversary Mustang Award for community service from the SMU Letterman's Association.

He spent free time at his ranch in Coryell County, west of Waco, where he loved to take friends and family hunting and fishing.

"If you were a friend of his, you were a friend of his friends," Scott Reynolds said. "He was very inclusive."

Scott Reynolds recalled how his dad would organize group dove hunts and drive around in a Jeep making sure everybody had water and plenty of shotgun shells.

"And when it came time to gather everybody up, he always had his hunting limit," he said. "We were never sure how he did it."

In addition to his sister and son, George Reynolds is survived by wife Sissy, of Dallas; sons Mark, of Austin, and George IV, of Dallas; brothers Peter, of Plano, and Joseph, of Dallas; and nine grandchildren.

A memorial service is set for 1 p.m. Friday at Church of the Incarnation, 3966 McKinney Ave. in Dallas, with a reception to follow.

The family asks that memorial contributions be made in Reynolds' name to either Church of the Incarnation or the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, 106 E. 10th St., Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75203.